BLOG

Tips on How to Work with Video Editing Freelance

Posted on October 1, 2015

A lot of people have the ability and skill for video editing freelance, but they may not understand the small things that can make a successful video. We’ll share what we have learned about being a freelance editor.

You Don’t Need Much

Working from home means going light. You really need a powerful laptop with editing software, a good pair of headphones and hard drive of footage. For video editing freelance, you should have a desk with extra monitors, big speakers, full keyboard with a mouse and maybe USB hubs.

More than 10 years ago, good quality video formats were captured on tape and other systems that required capture cards and control decks that were very expensive. All media ends up on a hard drive which is easier for them, and keeps it easy for an editor. There is a list of items for video editing freelance that an editor should use in the home office. This will make your experience more efficient.

Laptop

Headphones

USB hub

DisplayPort to VGA adapter

Diamond USB to VGA adapter

Hard drives

Mouse

Speakers

Who Are Your Collaborators?

The best advice is to begin home video editing of simple projects for people you’ve worked in the past. Try behind-the-scenes editing or making a promo for some clients. Editing small projects will help you to begin to refine the workflow while making your portfolio.

Have Solid Examples of Work

When you’re looking for a job, you should have proof of your skill. You may have a few short edits you have worked on, or a compilation reel of sections of various editing projects. The trick of your home video editing experiences is to send examples that will be the most like what your potential client wants you to do for them.

Get Enough the Storage

Find the storage system that meets your needs; it should have been useful for you for years. You can buy small drives that can be bus powered. Of course, they should match your laptop. The number of drives is up to you.

Get a File Sharing Service

Working remotely, you may often be sent a hard drive with footage. Good producers you may work with usually have a file transfer service set up, but sometimes you may need to provide some solutions. For example, you may use Google Drive. It is free to get the job done. If you have your own site, you can use it or you can use some other services for file transferring.

Try to Work Fast

Producers have plenty of options for editors, and for them to work with those who are dealing with home video editing; you should make it as easy as possible and offer a fast turnaround. This can mean working through the whole night to get a rough cut the next morning.

Watch Your Time

If time tracking is difficult for you, you may use a timer like a kind of digital punch clock. There are apps that can do it for you so that you don’t miss the deadline. Also, it will help to organize your work better in the future.

Take Breaks

Try to do this from time to time. Work until a natural pause occurs while exporting, rendering or files transferring. You may do some exercises, go for a walk, or if you need a long edit exporting, set it up to run overnight. If you are not wasting time while business hours, you will do more work.

Make Everything Organized

If you are a good video editor, you are already organized. On the hard drive that your client sends you, create a folder with the project name and your name as well. Create sub-folders inside it with graphics, music, project files and so on. Make things organized. If your client can’t find a proper file in your folders, it can make you look bad.

Of course, not everyone can be a good video editor. You should have particular skills to be good at it, especially if you want to get good money for this. That’s why if you have a video to edit, you’d better leave it to professionals. MyMovieLab is here to edit any video you have at the highest level.